A video recap of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's series of intimate New York City shows leading up to the March 11 release of the band's new album, "Incarnate" can be seen below. Spanning both Manhattan and Brooklyn, these five shows all took place in venues the band had never played before. To make these shows even more special, for each night of their New York City residency, the band debuted a different new song from "Incarnate" in the set. Fans in attendance were the first to hear the song live. The KsE x NYC dates were as follows: March 06 - Gramercy Theatre (Manhattan)March 07 - Bowery Ballroom (Manhattan)March 09 - Saint Vitus (Brooklyn)March 10 - Marlin Room at Webster Hall (Manhattan)March 11 - Rough Trade NYC (Brooklyn)

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE will embark on a North American headline tour this week. They will be joined by MEMPHIS MAY FIRE and 36 CRAZYFISTS for the trek. The tour runs from March 16 in San Antonio, Texas to April 24 near Charleston, South Carolina.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist and producer Adam Dutkiewicz recently told Revolver magazine that the band's lead singer, Jesse Leach, "hit a wall with ideas" during the songwriting process for "Incarnate" after completing the first three or four songs in the studio. "He couldn't find lyrics he was really stoked on," Adam explained. "But Jesse's a great lyricist and a great songwriter, so I just told him, 'Keep writing, and when you hit on something that inspires you, bring it to me.'"

Leach, for his part, admitted that he struggled for a bit. "It did take me a little longer," he said. "But we're at this stage now with our band where we can't be phoning it in. If you really care about your music and you care about your career and your fans, you've gotta give 'em everything you've got. And so I came to a point where this album literally drove me crazy. My wife can attest to that. There were a good couple of weeks where I wasn't myself. I just got lost in the process, because I wanted this record to be everything it could be. I was losing sleep, not sleeping at all, and waking up in the middle of the night and sitting down and writing pages and pages and pages of words. By the time all was said and done, I probably had 80 pages of lyrics. I just wanted to give it everything I could, vocally and lyrically."

"Winterbane", the new music video from ABBATH, the band led by ex-IMMORTAL frontman Olve Eikemo (a.k.a. Abbath), can be seen below. The clip was created by Jon Simvonis and was filmed by Ragnvald Stokken and Francisco Munoz.

"Winterbane" is taken from ABBATH's self-titled debut album, which was released on January 22 via Season Of Mist.

Bass duties for ABBATH are being handled by a man familiar to metal fans across the world — Tom Cato Visnes, more widely known as King Ov Hell and main composer for several GORGOROTH albums as well as his own bands OV HELL, with singer Shagrath from DIMMU BORGIR, and GOD SEED, with exceptional black metal vocalist Gaahl.

King Ov Hell comments on the "Winterbane" clip: "After some months of hard work, we are finally ready to present you the greatest metal video of all time, 'Winterbane'. Next project would be to build a wall between Sweden and Norway, and have the Swedes pay for it. We are making metal great again!"

ABBATH released a seven-inch single, "Count The Dead", on December 11, 2015 via Season Of Mist. The A-side features the title track while the B-side consists of a cover version of the JUDAS PRIEST classic "Riding On The Wind".

In a recent interview with Australia's TheMusic.com.au, Abbath spoke about the circumstances surrounding his departure from IMMORTAL and his decision to launch a new group. "I feel like I've been fired," he said. "It was never my intention to go solo but I really feel like I've been forced into it. Apparently they [lyricist/guitarist Demonaz and drummer Horgh] are going to continue on [as IMMORTAL] without me and that's fine — but it was very disappointing that no one, not even [IMMORTAL's record label] Nuclear Blast, wanted to hear my side of the story. The other guys wanted to do things solely on their timetable and also claimed that I need to go to rehab, which was just nonsense, because I've always delivered, live and in the studio — always."

He continued: "I just think they ended up being in it for the wrong reasons. They weren't showing any passion for what we were doing.

"Even though my new band is called ABBATH, it finally feels like I'm in a real band — part of a group of musicians who have a great dialogue and share a passion for the music. It didn't feel like that in IMMORTAL for a long time."

"Follow You", the the brand new music video from the Sheffield, England-based band BRING ME THE HORIZON, can be seen below. The song is taken from the group's fifth studio album, "That's The Spirit", which debuted at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 album chart, selling 62,000 copies in its first week of release. The chart and sales numbers were career highs for the British act.

"That's The Spirit" marks a surprising change in BRING ME THE HORIZON's sound and singer Oliver Sykes told The Pulse Of Radio how it came about. "Really, we were wrapping up 'Sempiternal', and we just felt like we'd progressed a lot just in that short space of time since releasing 'Sempiternal' and touring it, so, yeah, I guess when we finished the campaign, we just really felt like we had a big opportunity. Like, 'Sempiternal' really got us out to the public a lot more than the previous record and stuff, and it felt like people were waiting to see what we did next and people were really hungry for it, you know what I mean? So we just wanted to take the opportunity and really smash it out of the park, I guess."

"That's The Spirit" not only marks a change in the band's sound but also has a concept behind it.

Sykes explained recently: "It's a celebration of depression. A way of making light of it. That's the spirit — it's quite a depressing phrase when you think about it — the sort of thing you only ever use when you know there's no positive answer to the situation."

BRING ME THE HORIZON last month announced a headline U.S. spring tour. Dates kick off April 30 at Welcome To Rockville festival in Jacksonville, Florida and continue through May 22 at Columbus, Ohio's Rock On The Range.

SLAYER's new music video for the song "You Against You" can be seen below. The clip was directed by BJ McDonnell, who previously worked with SLAYER on the "Repentless" video. "You Against You" stars Jason Trost ("Hatchet III") as Wyatt, the eyepatched rebel inmate, and tells the story of the circumstances that led to Wyatt's erroneous arrest and imprisonment.

SLAYER drummer Paul Bostaph recently told Be In The Loop Magazine about the "You Against You" clip: "We filmed that in southern California in the Mojave desert, and it was close to an air force base. There's this guy, and he's a collector of like, airplane wrecks, decommissioned planes, that kind of thing, so we went out there and filmed it on this guy's property. It was a huge yard, and it was just amazing. He had a C-130 without the wings, and, you know, how often do you get to sit in the cockpit of one of those things? When I was done with my part of the video, I just walked around all day, sitting in cockpits, checking out these planes. It was awesome. The video is killer, definitely the most fun I've ever had making one. When you see it, just know, those aren't props — that's all real stuff."

"Repentless" was McDonnell's first stint directing a music video. He directed the 2013 horror film "Hatchet III" and has worked as a motion picture cameraman.

"You Against You" is taken from SLAYER's latest album, "Repentless", which is the band's first album to feature guitarist Gary Holt. The EXODUS axeman replaced founding member Jeff Hanneman, who passed away on May 2, 2013 from liver failure. The band's other guitarist, Kerry King, told ArtistDirect how he worked with Holt during the recording of the record. "When I did leads, I probably did half of them," he said. "Gary came in and did his. Then, I probably did the other half of mine. He got to play off of mine on some songs. I got to play off of his on other songs."

He continued: "[Gary] did 'You Against You' before I did mine. I think that one really captured me and Gary playing off each other. He did the first lead and second lead. I did the third and the fourth. The second and third sound like they were written for each other. They play really well off each other."

"Repentless" was released on September 11, 2015 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2009's critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated "World Painted Blood" was produced by Terry Date, who has previously worked with PANTERA, DEFTONES and SOUNDGARDEN. The artwork was created by Brazilian artist Marcelo Vasco in collaboration with the band's Tom Araya and Kerry King.

"Repentless" debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200, having shifted 50,000 equivalent album units in the week ending September 17.

Photo credit: Martin Hausler

Frontiers Music Srl will release SUNSTORM's fourth album, titled "Edge Of Tomorrow", on May 13.

A track from the CD, "The Sound Of Goodbye", can be streamed below.

SUNSTORM is Joe Lynn Turner's successful AOR/melodic rock project, something that came about for the first time in 2006 when Frontiers president Serafino Perugino wanted to dig up some unreleased gems that Turner wrote during the late '80s and early '90s.

The very good reviews and acclaim which surrounded the debut self-titled release was the fuel that ignited three more records, until the project was momentarily shelved when Joe started working on the RATED X supergroup with Tony Franklin and Carmine Appice.

After the release of the RATED X album, Joe wanted to go back to the more melodic material of SUNSTORM, but also wanted to retain some of the harder edge which the RATED X album had. So he asked producer and songwriter Alessandro Del Vecchio (HARDLINE, EDGE OF FOREVER) to come up with some new songs in that vein. Del Vecchio joined forces with Simone Mularoni, guitar player of Italian prog metallers DGM. Together they developed songs which were exactly what Joe wanted, so it was a natural process to move forward and record another SUNSTORM album. As usual, other songwriters, such as Soren Kronqvist and Daniel Palmqvist completed the array of individuals involved.

Joe Lynn Turner says: "This new SUNSTORM album is the best of the series! We went harder... stronger... and heavier than ever before without losing the integrity of what the project is about... I call it melodic metal! The songs are very well crafted, the messages are profound, the performances amazing.. and the sound is incredible! All involved can be very proud of such a great music. I urge anyone who loves great music to check out 'Edge Of Tomorrow'; you won't be disappointed!"

"Edge Of Tomorrow" track listing:

01. Don't Walk Away From A Goodbye02. Edge Of Tomorrow03. Nothing Left To Say04. Heart Of The Storm05. The Sound Of Goodbye06. The Darkness Of This Dawn07. You Hold Me Down08. Angel Eyes09. Everything You've Got10. Tangled In Blue11. Burning Fire

SUNSTORM is:

Joe Lynn Turner: Lead VocalsAlessandro Del Vecchio: Hammond Organ, Keyboards, Backing Vocals Simone Mularoni: GuitarNik Mazzucconi: Bass Francesco Jovino: Drums

"Doomed User", a brand new song from the California-based rock band DEFTONES, can be streamed at SiriusXM.com. The track is taken from the group's eighth studio album, titled "Gore", which will be released on April 8 via Warner Bros. Records. The CD was produced by Matt Hyde and DEFTONES. DEFTONES singer Chino Moreno told U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine about the new album title: "If you look at the title and the artwork, it's about a juxtaposition that, for me, is very beautiful.

"I think DEFTONES have always flirted with dynamic and that yin-and-yang of things that are provocative and things that are beautiful. Where our last two album titles were a lot more optimistic, I think this title is intentionally different. This record is very different.

"I feel like 'Diamond Eyes' and 'Koi No Yokan' were brother-sister records in a lot of ways. They were both recording in the same way. And even though it was a tough few years we went through while making those records, I think it was important to have their optimistic outlook."

Moreno also spoke in more detail about the making of "Gore". He said: "We recorded this record in a different way. I'm not saying we went in with any preconceived ideas as such, but I do think we went in knowing that we wanted to make this record a little different from the last two. And I feel, definitely, like we did that. It's still a DEFTONES record — we didn't really have any new influences that changed that — but it's an expansion of what we were comfortable with. And it's important to get out of your comfort zone sometimes witch the music — just to be excited. It's got a different look. A different shade of color. I'd say some shade of purple. I don't know why, but I think it sits somewhere between pink, red and purple. Sometimes when I hear music, I see color, and when it came time to work on the artwork for this batch of songs, I knew exactly what I wanted."

"Gore" track listing:

01. Prayers/Triangles02. Acid Hologram03. Doomed User04. Geometric Headdress05. Hearts and Wires06. Pittura Infamante07. Xenon08. (L)MIRL09. Gore10. Phantom Bride11. Rubicon

"Gore" is available for pre-order at www.deftones.com. Those who pre-order will receive an instant download of the first single, "Prayers/Triangles".

"Gore" will serve as the follow-up to 2012's "Koi No Yokan", which featured the Top 15 rock radio hit "Tempest".

The new disc features a guest appearance from ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell.

AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson's close friend, comedian Jim Breuer, has released a video message clarifying the comments he made in which he suggested the singer was "kicked to the curb" by the band after 36 years.

Breuer said (see clip below): "Just so people know, I'm not quoting Brian Johnson. It's me venting. He didn't say a lot of those things. When I first saw him he was just down and sad and just saying, 'I'm just trying to work things out and I hope it all comes to fruition.' The rest is me just trying to lift him up, being funny and goofy. Then I just talked in a conversation with a friend kind of exaggerating some of those points. I had no clue the madness that it would create."

AC/DC recently postponed the last ten shows on its latest North American trek after it was reported that Johnson's doctors advised him to come off the road or face "total hearing loss." But Breuer said there was more to the story.

On his "The Metal In Me" podcast, Breuer said he saw Johnson in Sarasota, Florida on March 11, where the singer told him that his doctor had confirmed some hearing loss during the first, mostly outdoor, leg of AC/DC's world tour. According to Breuer, Johnson said, "[The doctor said], 'Now you're gonna go out and do indoor [shows]? I do not put my name on this. You're a grown man. You make a decision, but I would not mess around with this at all.'"

Johnson then went to guitarist Angus Young and AC/DC management to explain the situation, according to Breuer, who said: "[Brian] said that he called and let [AC/DC and Young] know, 'Hey, this is what the doctor said, but let's try to figure this out. I don't think it's as bad as he said it is.' Literally the next day in the press, it was 'Brian Johnson, tour canceled, he's losing his hearing.'"

Breuer continued: "[Johnson] said he just called and gave that information. He didn't say he wanted to quit. He didn't say he was done. He called with that information, and two days later, he read in the papers and heard on Twitter and everywhere else, 'Brian Johnson going deaf canceling tour.' A day later, and it was, 'Oh, we're gonna have guest singers.'"

Shockingly, Breuer added that Johnson suspects that he has already been replaced in AC/DC. Breuer said: "He feels like he heard from someone that they already hired somebody, it just hasn't been announced yet."

Breuer said that Johnson still felt like a "hired gun" after 36 years, and that Angus Young as the band's youngest member wants to keep going for another decade and at least one more album and tour.

Johnson has been the band's singer since 1980, when he replaced the late Bon Scott. He made his recording debut with the group on the classic "Back In Black".

AC/DC has been on the road since last year in support of its 16th studio album, "Rock Or Bust". The band has said it will make up the postponed dates, possibly with a "guest vocalist."


BRIAN JOHNSON/ ACDC clearing the air!

Posted by Jim Breuer on Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Bordeaux, France-based psychedelic stoner doom trio, Mars Red Sky, will release their stunning new album Apex III (Praise For The Burning Soul) in North America this May via Listenable Records. Orders can be placed at Listenable Records.
 
Already available to European audiences, Apex III (Praise For The Burning Soul) was captured by Gabriel Zander, who also engineered the band's lauded Stranded In Arcadia offering, and Jacob Dennis in Studio Cryogene in Bègles, France and truly pushes the boundaries of the band's already monolithic sound. With Apex III (Praise For The Burning Soul), Mars Red Sky delivers grandiose and hypnotizing hymns rooted in a far wider range of musical influences stretching from Robert Wyatt, The Beatles, Nick Drake and Neil Young to Electric Wizard, Acid King and, naturally, Black Sabbath.

Tracklisting:

“(Alien Grounds) / Apex III”
“The Whinery”
“Mindreader”
“Under The Hood”
“Friendly Fire”
“Prodigal Sun”
“Shot In Providence” (bonus track on CD edition)

"Mindreader" video:

"Shot In Providence” video:

 



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NYC-based experimental metal outfit Pyrrhon have released Running Out Of Skin, a new EP, via their Bandcamp page. A limited-edition CD pressing courtesy of PRC Music will follow shortly. Stream the EP via the Bandcamp player below.

Running Out Of Skin is perhaps Pyrrhon's most unconventional recording to date. Tracked entirely live and dispensing with the layered rhythm guitars common to most metal records, it consists of one new composed song — "Statistic Singular," which recounts a homicide witnessed by vocalist Doug Moore in 2012 — two standalone group improvisations, and a reinterpretation of Death's classic "Crystal Mountain." Both the purely improvisational tracks and the cover are firsts for Pyrrhon's recorded catalog. The latter was the first song the band learned as a group, and serves as a send-off for longtime drummer Alex Cohen, who makes his last recorded appearance with Pyrrhon here.

Running Out Of Skin was recorded by Cohen at Solitude Studios, and mixed / mastered by Colin Marston at Menegroth: The Thousand Caves. Longtime Pyrrhon visual artist Caroline Harrison created the cover art and layout.

Tracklisting:

“Statistic Singular”
“Ashes To Alveoli”
“Motivational Speaker II”
“Crystal Mountain” (Death cover)

Running Out Of Skin by Pyrrhon



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In a brand new interview with In The Loop magazine, SLAYER and EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt was asked if he anticipates being part of the songwriting process for SLAYER's follow-up to last year's "Repentless" album. He responded: "I've certainly never been one to have a shortage of material, so yeah, it's a bit premature, but down the line, if Kerry [King, SLAYER guitarist] and Tom [Araya, SLAYER bassist/vocalist] want me to, I have about as good of an insight into SLAYER's writing style by now as just about anybody. I think I could write some things that fit right in, sure. But right now, of course, we're focused on the tour [in support of 'Repentless']."

Holt, who is still a member of San Francisco Bay Area thrash icons EXODUS, has been the touring guitarist for SLAYER since January 2011 when the band's co-founding guitarist, Jeff Hanneman, contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points.

Holt did not contribute to the songwriting process on "Repentless", although he did lay down guitar solos on most of the album's twelve tracks.

"I would have loved for Gary to have been more involved with writing," King explained to LA Weekly. "I thought a long time about this, but I didn't think SLAYER fans were ready for that yet. Even though Gary's a household name in thrash, I didn't feel that the first SLAYER record without Jeff should have Gary Holt contributing as a writer."

Hanneman eventually died in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".

Hanneman's last appearance with SLAYER was in April 2011, when he played an encore with the band at the "Big Four" concert in Indio, California.

"Repentless" was released last September via Nuclear Blast.

SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor has once again clarified comments he made in a recent interview in which he seemed to suggest that he might "step away" from the band at some point in the future. Taylor told Full Metal Jackie, host of the new radio show "Whiplash": "Well, I do it every two years. I mean, that's what people forget — I step away from SLIPKNOT to do STONE SOUR all the time. That's what I was kind of talking about. You know, I was talking about time off and I was talking about giving myself a chance to kind of catch my breath and kind of letting SLIPKNOT take a rest as well."

He continued: "The ironic thing is that in that same interview that I was doing with Daniel P. Carter, I talk about what I call cut-and-paste journalism, and it happened to me in that interview; they took something so far out of context to the point where Metal Hammer said I was quitting. I was, like, 'Really? What are you doing?' It was so stupid, I can't even describe the reaction. And finally I had to get on Twitter and go, 'I'm not quitting SLIPKNOT. I was talking about time off. Please read things in context. Listen to interviews in context.' It was so ridiculous."

Asked on the "Someone Who Isn't Me" podcast if he thought he will ever get "tired of touring," Taylor replied, "I'm just kind of starting to. I'm forty-two; I'm not young anymore. And as willing as my will is, I'm just beat up, man. I mean, I might as well be sixty in SLIPKNOT years, for Christ's sake."

Taylor added, "I don't know if I would retire. I might step away from SLIPKNOT at some point, just because the way the music is, and that sense of energy, I don't know if I could be able to do that into my fifties."

Taylor admitted not long ago that SLIPKNOT definitely has plans to return after the touring cycle for its current album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", ends. "Yeah, there'll definitely be more," he told The Pulse Of Radio. "I think we're gonna do the usual thing where, you know, we'll probably tour until summer, and then we'll take some time off. We all have things that we do in our lives that we'll take time to go and do, and when it feels right to come back, we'll come back."

SLIPKNOT has hinted that its next studio effort could be a double concept album. The group's last set, ".5: The Gray Chapter", came out in late 2014.

Meanwhile, the band has now confirmed all the dates, cities and venues for its massive summer North American tour with MARILYN MANSON and OF MICE & MEN.

"Whiplash" airs every Monday night from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on the Los Angeles radio station 95.5 KLOS. The show can be heard on the KLOS web site at 955klos.com or you can listen in on the KLOS channel on iHeartRadio.

Full Metal Jackie also hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, which can be heard all over the country.

To see a full list of stations carrying Full Metal Jackie's show and when it airs, go to FullMetalJackieRadio.com.

American singer David Reece, who fronted ACCEPT in the late '80s, says that he would have "gladly" rejoined the band had he been asked.

The current BONFIRE vocalist was recruited for ACCEPT's "Eat The Heat" LP in 1989 following the departure of Udo Dirkschneider. Reece's higher-pitched delivery was in sharp contrast to Dirkschneider's distinctive style, and overall, the album was a critical and commercial disappointment,

Midway through the "Eat The Heat" tour, differences between the band and Reece had come to a head, leading to the altercation between the singer and bassist Peter Baltes in Chicago. By the end of 1989, ACCEPT had hung it up.

"That album was a blessing and a curse for me… being in that band," Reece told Canadian rock journalist Mitch Lafon for a recent edition of the "One On One With Mitch Lafon" podcast (Facebook page). "'Cause, obviously, you know, the stigma of Udo, and I'm an American guy with a bunch of Germans, and they were terrified about the change. They were following the corporate rule: 'We need an American blond guy to cross over.' 'Cause 'Balls [To The Wall]' did, like, four hundred thousand [copies in the U.S.]; they never really cracked gold. So they thought by Americanizing the band, they would go platinum. But, basically, it was taken wrong by the fans. And the new fans really didn't know, because we were a new band to them."

While ACCEPT had done reunion shows with Dirkschneider in 2005, the singer did not feel that recording new material with the band would work. He was happy with his solo act U.D.O. and was reluctant to put the band on hold to make new music and tour with ACCEPT. Eventually, Baltes and guitarist Wolf Hoffmann found a new singer, Mark Tornillo, who had paid his dues in hard rock outfit TT QUICK and had performed cover versions of ACCEPT's classic songs.

ACCEPT has released three albums with Tornillo, including 2014's "Blind Rage". But Reece says that despite his difficult past with the group, he would have considered a return.

"It was funny, because ACCEPT were talking about getting a new singer before [they hooked up with] Tornillo and everything, and my name actually came up again, and I honestly would have done the band again," Reece told Lafon. "I would have gladly said, 'Let me jam with you guys. Let's see if it works.' Because we left a lot of unfinished business on that record; there's some great tracks on that album."

He continued: "Every show I do with BONFIRE, I see 'Eat The Heat' in everybody's arms at the autograph table. And they tell me what the album meant to them, how it took a few years to really grab a hold of 'em, but now they listen to it all day. I hear that all the time. I just did some shows in the Czech Republic, and people were carrying it around. There was vinyl editions of it in different countries. I mean, I see it everywhere."

Reece also talked about collaborating with legendary German producer Dieter Dierks on "Eat The Heat", an experience he says "was really good" for him.

"Working with him as a producer, I had no clue," Reece said. "I sang in nightclubs since I was 16 years old. And at the time I was 27, I think, when I got that gig, and I thought I had it all. I had no clue what it was like to make a record and really sing. 'Cause I had no identity as a singer. I mean, I'm trying to emulate [Ronnie James] Dio and [Rob] Halford and all these guys in clubs. I thought I had it all, but I knew nothing. I mean, he really taught me to be a singer. He put me back in vocal training. I'd already had a lot of teaching, but he [told me], 'You need more lessons. I want you to work on this.' So I went three months during that record to a teacher. We would start recording about 1 p.m. and end about 1 a.m. seven days a week. It made me vocally strong, where I could, basically, do gigs at noon — matinee shows — and do a festival that night, you know what I mean? He taught me discipline… many things. I mean, it was really good for me. I brought a lot of that into BANGALORE CHOIR and what I do to this day. I use a lot of that teaching."

Reece and his BONFIRE bandmates, who are celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2016, will release a new double album, "Pearls", on March 18. The set will be available as single CDs and also as double CD/LP. The "Rock Pearls" CD features BONFIRE rockers that were not played so much in the past. The "Classic Pearls" CD features newly recorded BONFIRE classic ballads together with an orchestra.

KROKUS singer Marc Storace says that he would "certainly" accept an invitation to step in for AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson, who has been advised by doctors to stop touring immediately or risk total hearing loss.

The Maltese-born vocalist, whose band has opened for AC/DC in the past and who once turned down an opportunity to audition to replace the late Bon Scott in 1980, tells BlastEcho in a brand new interview (hear audio below): "It's amazing after so many years that this situation comes up again. It's really, really incredible."

He continues: "As far as it concerns me, obviously there's my loyalty to KROKUS, but the guys would understand if the offer came and I would certainly take it up this time and go for an audition. Then it's up to [AC/DC lead guitarist] Angus [Young] to decide. For me, AC/DC is Angus Young — no offense to Brian Johnson. I think Brian Johnson did a magnificent job with his special unique kind of voice. But losing your hearing is not a nice thing. It's like losing our eyesight for a musician."

The 64-year-old Storace tells BlastEcho that no one from the AC/DC camp has contacted him yet about filling in for Johnson, but adds somewhat cryptically: "I actually didn't even have to call Sony [both AC/DC and KROKUS are Sony artists]. They were already on the ball. This thing is not an easy thing to decide. I don't know what's happening and I don't wanna ask. I'm concentrating on my life and if they decide it's gonna be someone else, I'll continue with my life like I've always [done]."

Storace admitted in a previous interview that he initially had some understandable reservations about being repeatedly compared to Scott, feeling he was being "branded as a copy of somebody who, at the time, I didn't even know that well." But he eventually started seeing things differently. "Today, I look at is as a big compliment. I think he probably had many of the same idols I had, and we were both gifted with the same vocal tonalities."

Back in 2000, Storace released an album with a project called DC WORLD in which he sang Bon Scott-era AC/DC songs. Audio samples from that effort can be heard in a YouTube clip below.

Storace confirmed to the Swiss newspaper Blick in a 2013 interview that he was invited to replace Scott in AC/DC more than three decades ago. He said: "Yes, I was considered. At the time AC/DC searched for a successor for the late Bon Scott. One day a guy flew from Birmingham, England to Solothurn, Switzerland and told me to come for an audition. I wasn't interested at all… I was happy in Switzerland. KROKUS started just to break through internationally — even in the United States. We were No. 1 everywhere. In the band, there was this great camaraderie. I did not wanted to leave to go anywhere else. I was here at home. I am a loyal dog."

MOTÖRHEAD guitarist Phil Campbell joined MASS MENTAL on stage on March 13 at the Electric Ballroom in London, England to perform a couple of MOTÖRHEAD classics. Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

MASS MENTAL is the project led by METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo. Joining him in the MASS MENTAL lineup will be Armand Sabal-Lecco (PAUL SIMON) on bass, Benji Webbe (SKINDRED) and Whitfield Crane (UGLY KID JOE) on vocals and Brant Bjork (KYUSS, FU MANCHU) on drums.

MASS MENTAL was founded in 1998 by Trujillo, formerly of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, along with SKINDRED singer Clive "Benji" Webbe, formerly of DUB WAR. In 1999, the band released "How To Write Love Songs", along with the live album "Live In Tokyo". Both CDs were made available exclusively in Japan. Shortly thereafter, MASS MENTAL broke up, allowing the bandmembers to return to their main projects. In 2002, MASS MENTAL reunited briefly with Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR, SOULFLY) playing drums, although no new material resulted.

In a 2014 interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, Trujillo stated about MASS MENTAL: "MASS MENTAL is a collective. It's a group of musicians who really connect with the funk — old-school, in-your-face funk. A lot of it is pulled from the '70s, believe it or not — Jaco, PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC, and so on. Armand Sabal-Lecco I've known since 1994.

"We've been doing MASS MENTAL since 1994, on and off. We've probably done about five gigs in over 20 years, so… it's always a party. We did a show at the Whisky A Go Go a few months back. It's always a trip. You've got Ozzy Osbourne just hanging out, Stewart Copeland of THE POLICE, CYPRESS HILL is there, members of WEEZER… It's super-cool. It takes the weight off of anything high-profile. The pressure's off. It's all just about having fun, playing some kickass bass lines and movin' and groovin'."

He continued: "What people don't know about MASS MENTAL is… tracks have been recorded in the nineties, out in the countryside of England, out in Wales, even GENESIS's studio in the countryside, places where LED ZEPPELIN recorded. There's a lot of history to that collective.

"Benji Webbe, the singer of the band SKINDRED (who is in MASS MENTAL), he was a part of one of my favorite groups out of England, DUB WAR. They're now somewhat defunct, but man, they were good."

Greg Lake has told U.K.'s Express that he wasn't shocked by the tragic death of his EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER bandmate Keith Emerson.

The 71-year-old keyboard legend died last week as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In addition to confirming the death as a suicide, the Los Angeles County coroner noted Emerson had heart disease and "chronic depression."

Now Lake says that Emerson had been struggling with depression since at least 1977 and describes his friend as "increasingly confused, desperate and depressed" in his final years.

"I have to be honest and say his death didn't come as a shock to me," Lake said. "The situation with Keith didn't happen suddenly — it has been developed from as far back as 'The Works Vol. 1' album. At that point I began to see things happening with Keith which didn't look or feel right.

He continued: "It's very difficult to describe what depression is. We all know what it looks like. People's moods become very black. But it's more complicated. It changes someone's personality.

"He lived, in the end, this very lonely existence of someone who was deeply troubled. I saw someone who became increasingly confused, desperate and depressed."

Despite the fact that Emerson's girlfriend said the musician was "tormented with worry" over how his degenerative disease affected his playing ability, Lake doesn't believe that was the main reason behind his decision to end his life.

Lake said: "I'm sure that was a component — but a lot of people are given bad news like that, and you don't take your life because of it.

"If anyone does have feelings of being so desperate that they think it's better off not to wake up tomorrow, please talk to somebody. The doctor, your friend, anybody.

"Talk to them and tell them what state you're in. If Keith had taken that path, he might still be here today."

In addition to Emerson and Lake, EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER included drummer Carl Palmer.

Palmer said in a statement that he was "deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my good friend and brother-in-music." He also vowed to "put together a tribute show to Keith, hopefully in June this year. This, I feel, is the very least I can do to honor Keith's talent and musicianship."

EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER reunited for one last tour together in 2010. Their final gig took place in July 2010 at London's High Voltage festival.

The Front Row Report recently conducted an interview with BUTCHER BABIES frontwomen Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On BUTCHER BABIES' plans for the follow-up to last year's "Take It Like A Man" album:

Heidi: "We're taking most of the summer off to write the next album. So we're gonna be on tour until the end of June. So from now 'till the end of June, and then we're gonna take just a couple of months off. [We'll play] a couple of shows here and there — festivals — but a couple of months off. We're gonna keep at it. You can't stop it. You can't stop the creativity."

On whether there were any sales goals they wanted to achieve with "Take It Like A Man":

Carla: "I don't think that we think in terms of that. Obviously, we want it to sell well, but we want people to love it more than anything, people to relate to it, people to sing along when we're at the shows. We think that's how we tell if it's successful — if people are connecting to the songs when we're playing them live. These kids are screaming back the lyrics at us, and there's tears in their eyes when we're doing 'Thrown Away'. If they're feeling it, if they're getting in the pit, that's success for us, not a numbers thing, because these days, numbers don't really matter."

Heidi: "It has done well [sales-wise], but we don't really keep up with it too much. Every once in a while, we'll get an e-mail with updates, but we don't really keep up with that. For us, it's like Carla said, it's about that emotion that we connect with the fanbase and having that bond with our fanbase and seeing them love the songs. With this album, one thing we definitely wanted to do was to go in and create those live songs that people can move to, they can sing to, they can scream to, they can fistpump, crowdsurf… everything. And there's a lot of heavy hitters in there."

"Take It Like A Man" was produced by Logan Mader, who has previously worked with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, DEVILDRIVER, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and GOJIRA.

"Lo Lamento", a brand new song from LOVE & DEATH, the band led by KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch, can be streamed below. Joining Welch on the track are BREAKING BENJAMIN's Jasen Rauch, who produced the song, JR Bareis (from ISLANDER and LOVE & DEATH) and Dan Johnson from RED. Head shares vocal duties on the track with Bareis.

Welch tells Loudwire: "'Lo Lamento' is a song that came from an idea producer Jasen Rauch and writer Mark Holeman had on our last album, 'Between Here And Lost'. It was actually the original chorus for our song 'I W8 4 U', but it sounded way too melodic for that crushing song, as you can imagine. To me, 'Lo Lamento' paints a picture lyrically about infidelity and a once picture perfect relationship left in ruins."

"Lo Lamento" is being given away as a free download to everyone who purchases Welch's new book, "With My Eyes Wide Open: Miracles And Mistakes On My Way Back To Korn", via his official webstore at BrianHeadWelch.net. Due on May 17 from Nelson Books, it is the guitarist's account of the brutal, eye-opening eight years he spent as a single dad after leaving KORN, leading up to his controversial decision to rejoin the band in 2013 and reconcile with the tribe of people he once considered family in the metal music scene. Written with Carol Traver, the book is 240 pages in length, featuring 16 full-color photos from Welch's personal archive.

"Save Me From Myself", Welch's very public and disruptive conversion not only inspired him to leave a life of unbelievable excess with the band he helped found, but also gave him the strength he needed to overcome addictions to cocaine, alcohol, pills, as well as the drug that would almost completely destroy his life: meth amphetamines. Nevertheless, his instinct for bad decisions lingered, and what followed was a near decade-long trial by fire-from the perils of fathering a teen lost in depression and self-mutilation to the harsh realities of playing solo and surviving financial ruin-this intensely inspiring redemption saga is unlike any other.

Told with humor and no-holds-barred frankness, the raw and brutally honest follow-up to Welch's 2007 bestseller "Save Me From Myself" will appeal to a wide range of readers. "With My Eyes Wide Open" is truly an inspiring story for all.

"Angel In Disgrace", the new video from THE RAVEN AGE, the U.K.-based band led by IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris's son George Harris, can be seen below. The closing cut on THE RAVEN AGE's self-titled EP, it has already been streamed more than 150,000 times, proving to be their most successful track yet.

Said George: "This track has gained a lot of attention across the world and it's nice to be able to illustrate the story behind the song."

THE RAVEN AGE is a melodic metal band from London, United Kingdom consisting of five individuals who very quickly became friends through sharing a love for heavy music and a passion for songwriting.

In 2009, guitarists Dan Wright and George Harris began establishing their vision of a band that combines contemporary heavy music with powerful melodic vocals to create an epic and unique sound.

After writing their first album, they began searching for likeminded musicians to join the band and make their vision a reality.

Taking on bass player Matt Cox in 2012, with vocalist Michael Burrough and drummer Jai Patel joining in early 2013, the lineup was complete and ready to take their music to the stage.

THE RAVEN AGE is currently touring South America with IRON MAIDEN and ANTHRAX as part of "The Book Of Souls" world tour, which will continue on to North America, Japan, China, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and finish with an extensive run in Europe. The band will also be appear at some of the most established rock and metal festivals this summer, including the U.K.'s Download.

THE RAVEN AGE has many more exciting announcements planned for the remainder of this year, including the release of the band's debut full-length album.

THE RAVEN AGE is:

Michael Burrough - VocalsMatt Cox - BassDan Wright - GuitarGeorge Harris - GuitarJai Patel - Drums

Paul Hudson, better known as H.R., vocalist of hardcore punk legends BAD BRAINS has been has been diagnosed with a rare type of headache called SUNCT, a trigeminal neuralgia that is similar to cluster headaches. The disorder, which is most common in men after age 50, is marked by bursts of moderate to severe burning, piercing, or throbbing pain, usually on one side of the head and around the eye or temple.

A $50,000 crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help cover the costs of treating H.R.

In a statement on the GoFundMe page announcing the campaign, H.R.'s wife Lori writes: "I am HR's caregiver. He has a neurobiological disorder and has also had severe headaches for years. The headaches have gotten progressively worse; in November, he began living with almost constant pain.

"There is no known cure and no reliable medical treatment.

"To give you an idea of what he's dealing with, cluster headaches are nicknamed 'Suicide Syndrome.' The headaches come randomly, with no warning, at all hours of the day and night; but for him, they are much worse at night. The intensity of the nighttime headaches is so great that he yells, cries out, groans, and sobs—repeatedly, every few minutes, for most of the night. He can't work. He has no quality of life. If you call him and ask how he is, he will say, 'Everything's okay,' because that's just how he is. But everything is not okay.

"We've been consulting doctors for the past few years, and have uncovered several health issues that we were able to address and overcome. But these headaches… In the past six months, he's been to the emergency room twice, had an overnight in the hospital, has seen two neurologists, and so far he has a diagnosis and found a pain medication that worked well for a while but is not safe to take long-term — so it's two steps forward, three steps back. He has an appointment in early May at a Headache Center — not fully covered by health insurance — where we hope to find someone with experience with this type of headache. He's on a cocktail of pharmaceuticals that scares me. He has lost weight, with visible muscle wasting.

"As a clinical herbalist, you can be sure that I have also been tapping into my extensive knowledge of natural medicine. Nothing is working YET. I know what we need to try next, including acupuncture and some herbal preparations, however we can't manage the costs of these treatments.

"I am a full-time caregiver. I work a full-time retail management job with varying shifts. I manage HR's calendar and business as best as I can. I've been trying really hard to work on extra projects to bring in some extra money (very slow going). I take care of the apartment, the car, the bills, HR's doctor appointments, everything. I do all of the things. And now I can't sleep because my husband is crying out in pain all night. On top of the physical stress of shift work and not getting enough sleep, the emotional and psychological stress of watching him be in pain and not being able to do a damn thing about it is wearing me down. He needs me to be around more and he needs me to be at my best. I can't do this alone anymore. We need your help.

"Thank you for anything you can do to help HR regain his health — and his life."

H.R. is not the only BAD BRAINS member to be dealing with serious medical issues. The band's guitarist, Gary Miller (a.k.a. Dr. Know or Doc), suffered cardiac arrest in early November. His condition quickly progressed to multiple organ failure, and he was on life support for almost two weeks. At the time, his doctors gave him a 5% chance of survival. However, he was able to pull through and survive.

A crowdfunding campaign to raise money for Dr. Know's medical expenses and additional care that will be needed once he returns homehas been launched at this location.

Frontiers Music Srl will release of Ted Poley's new solo album, "Beyond The Fade", on May 13. Best known as lead vocalist for melodic rock masters DANGER DANGER, Ted Poley is also an accomplished solo artist, having released two acclaimed releases, "Collateral Damage" (2006) and "Smile" (2007). The story of "Beyond The Fade" starts after DANGER DANGER's acclaimed performance at Frontiers Rock Festival in Milan in 2014, when Ted and the label developed the idea to work together on some new music. The next step was to speak to producer Alessandro Del Vecchio (HARDLINE, EDGE OF FOREVER) and with a band that he put together, Ted performed at the second edition of the Frontiers Rock Festival. A few months later, Ted came back to Italy to finish the vocals on the album. Ted says: "I am absolutely thrilled with the way the whole album came out. If I have one quote: 'It's awesome!' My great friend and co-producer Alessandro Del Vecchio brought my sonic vision to life and no request from me was too great for him toward his goal of making 'the ultimate Ted Poley solo album" and he surely delivered on his promise. We had a lot of fun making the album and its obvious when you hear it. You can practically hear my smile while I am singing. We decided to make it sound big and there are a ton of backing vocals (in some cases more than 80 tracks of them!), along with great songs, soaring melodic guitar leads, pounding bass and big drums, all layered with cool keyboards... like a delicious musical cake! Save some room for dessert, I know that you are going to love this one!" With songs penned by the brothers Tom and James Martin (VEGA) and "Hands Of Love" written by Tony Bruno/Joe Lynn Turner, the sound of the record is nothing else but Ted Poley at his best, with immediately recognizable hooklines, amazing guitar work, immaculate production and total '80s attitude! "Beyond The Fade" track listing:

01. Let's Start Something02. Everything We Are03. Hands Of Love04. The Perfect Crime05. Stars06. Higher07. Where I Lost You08. You Won't See Me Cryin'09. We Are Young10. Sirens11. Beneath The Stars

The official video for the song "Higher" can be seen below. Ted Poley: Lead VocalsIssa: duet vocal on "The Perfect Crime"Alessandro Del Vecchio: Drums, Keyboards, Backing VocalsMario Percudani: GuitarAnna Portalupi: Bass

"Quandaries Obsolete", a brand new song from ORACLES, the extreme metal juggernaut featuring members of ABORTED, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, SYSTEMS DIVIDE and DIMLIGHT, can be streamed below. The track, which features a guest appearance by Ryan Knight (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER) on guitar, is taken from ORACLES' upcoming debut album, "Miserycorde", which will be released on July 1 via Deadlight Entertainment.

"Miserycorde" was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen (EPICA, VOLBEAT, DESTRUCTION) and features artwork by Colin Marks from Rain Song Design (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, NEVERMORE, EXODUS).

"Miserycorde" track listing:

01. An Adagio For The Callous02. The Tribulation Of Man03. Catabolic (I Am)04. Quandaries Obsolete05. Scorn06. Body Of Ineptitude07. Remnants Echo08. Canvas Of Me09. S(k)in10. The Beautiful People11. We, The Indifferent

ORACLES is:

Sven De Caluwé (ABORTED) - VocalsSanna Salou (DIMLIGHT) - VocalsMendel Bij de Leij (ABORTED) - GuitarSteve Miller (SYSTEM DIVIDE, LOCULUS) - GuitarAndrei Aframov (SYSTEM DIVIDE) - BassKen Bedene (ABORTED, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS) - Drums

ORACLES will make its live debut at Antwerp Metal Fest alongside KATATONIA, PRO-PAIN and SUICIDAL ANGELS.

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has told NorthJersey.com that he is "mostly done" writing his next book, which will convey the story behind every MEGADETH song. "The problem is I'm so busy right now I can't pay attention to it, which is not a bad problem to have," he said.

In an October 2015 interview with Music Feeds, Dave offered more information about his upcoming book. "It was done maybe between ten to thirteen years ago and there's been a lot of songs written since then," he said. "So all I'm essentially doing is putting the other songs that need to go in there and deciding, 'Is it gonna be every single song?' or 'Is it gonna be the relevant songs off each record?'"

Mustaine autobiography, "Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir", which came out in August 2010, landed at position No. 15 on the New York Times "Hardcover Nonfiction" best sellers list. The book was released in the U.S. via HarperCollins's It Books imprint (focusing on pop culture, sports, style and content derived from the Internet). The U.K. edition, "Mustaine: A Life In Metal", hit bookstores in the U.K. in September 2010.

"Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir" was co-written by New York Times journalist Joe Layden who also authored "The Last Great Fight" about what is considered by many to be the biggest upset in the history of boxing: James "Buster" Douglas' tenth-round knockout win over Mike Tyson in 1990.

Warg, the epic thrash metal band, has released “Time Will Hide”, a lyric video of the first single out of their new album, In The Dusk Of Men. This LP follows the path initiated in 2014 with Back From The Shadows, consolidating their style, mixing naturally the aggressiveness of old-school thrash, the epic and melody of Nordic metal and the tightness of heavy metal. In The Dusk Of Men will be out independently on April 19th.

The album was recorded in Estudios Teocida, is produced by Lucas Toledo and has a collaboration with Occitania singer, Nekane, in “Light Under The Shadows”.

Tracklisting:

“I Am Death”
“Ancient Times”
“Time Will Hide”
“Light Under The Shadows”
“In The Dusk Of Men”
“Wargs On The Horizon”
“Fate Of Kings”
“Ghosts Of Tomorrow”
“Tiergartenstrasse 4”

“Time Will Hide” is based on one of the theories that explains the crimes committed in Whitechapel, London, at the end of the 19th century... if you need a name call him Jack.

(Photo by: Javier Remacha)



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Italian death thrashers Node, who recently signed with Alpha Omega Management, are scheduled to release their brand new sixth studio effort titled Cowards Empire at the end of April via Punishment 18 Records. During March/September 2015 band recorded it with the producer Larsen Premoli (Destrage) at Reclab Studios in Milan. 

The album will contain a DVD with excerpts of the 20th Anniversary concert of the band, which took place on March 15th, 2014. 

Node has unveiled the album cover art created by Seldon Hunt (Neurosis):

Node recently announced the guest musicians, set to appear on the effort include important names such as Daniele Orlandi (Blackstarr & The new Black), Gianluca Ferro (Time Machine), Tommy Massara (Extrema), Lisy Stefanoni (Evenoire), Luca Di Fato (Wake Arkane), Oinos (Will o wisp Australwave), Andrea Caniato, Steve Minelli. New details will be revealed soon.

Node lineup:

Gary D’Eramo - guitar, vocals
CN Sid - vocals
Pietro Battanta - drums
Rudy Gonella Diaza - guitar
Davide (Dero) De Robertis - bass

(Photo - Giulia Thinkgreen Carbonero)



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From humble beginnings in 2012, Montreal, QC's Red Skies has come together to create a musical style of their own with nothing but their creativity to limit them. Unleashing their latest album 2015's Iron Sun plus recently premiering their music video “New Voice” via the band has announced they will be performing a local show date on April 7th at Pirnaha Bar and April 22nd will be performing in Levis, QC at Bar Le Cluster.

Upcoming dates:

April
7 – Montreal, QC – Piranha Bar
22 – Levis, QC – Bar Le Cluster

“New Voice” video:

(Photo: David Afriat)



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Montreal black metallers Éohum are streaming the new track, “Ode To A Martyr”, off their upcoming EP Ealdfaeder, set for release on March 18th.

The EP was recorded at Chris Donaldson’s (Cryptopsy) “The Grid” with a special guest recording from drummer Simon Mackay of The Agonist on tracks 2-4-5 and features a line up with band founder Perkins on guitar along with the return of Annie Perreault on French horn/flute, guitarist Sylvain Dumont, vocalist Barrie Butler plus new comers bassist Cesar Franco and drummer Luca Belviso whom have been part of the line up for the last year. All are focused on the distinct grassroots of old school plus very heavy progression that has flourished since last year to give way to a distinct path, sound and image with each member sharing common ground on the message, beliefs and ideas behind Éohum.

Ealdfaeder tracklisting:

“Eurocide”
“Unmasking A World Of Deceit”
“The Apathetic Plague”
“Ode To A Martyr”
“Curative Undulations”

“Ode To A Martyr”:

“Unmasking A World Of Deceit”:

(Photo - Mycelium Networks)



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Stockholm, Sweden-based melodic death metallers, Mindshift, are set to release their upcoming second full-length album, Horizon, worldwide via Eclipse Records on April 29th.

Horizon is jam-packed with fifteen amazing tracks of mind-blowing melodic metal that’s guaranteed to offer something new, and showcase some of the best new music coming out of the Swedish metal scene today. The title track, “Horizon”, is a stellar composition mixing vocal melodies and brutal guitars in the perfect proportions.

Mindshift vocalist Mao explains, ““Horizon” is about the senseless tragedy of things that happen in the world around us. The Charlie Hebdo attack, the brutal massacre at the Bataclan Concert Hall, the senseless wars in the Middle East, etc… One day I just asked myself, what can I do to make this world survive, prevent it from tearing itself apart?” “My Revenge” is an energetic masterpiece which features Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid from Soilwork on guest vocals. “Absolution” addresses the fact that everyone has a deep dark secret which they want to repent for, so they can just start over. Last (but certainly not least), “A Thousand Scars” is by far the heaviest song on the album, with crushing rhythm and beats that’ll knock you off your feet!”

Pre-orders for Horizon are currently available from iTunes and Amazon, which come with the songs “Horizon”, “My Revenge”, “Absolution”, and “A Thousand Scars” as instant grat tracks! More options to buy and/or stream the album are forthcoming at this location.

Whether they’re weaving a soundscape of technically-progressive metal, or layers of sonic textures to mesmerize the listener, Mindshift are always pushing the boundaries of modern music to the next level. The voice of their souls translates into the honesty of their music, and after all... isn’t that what we all want to hear?

Mindshift is:

Marcus ‘Mao’ Uggla (vocals)
Johan Lund (guitar)
Fabien ‘Fabz’ Perreau (drums)



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It is hard to imagine that something called krautgaze could grow up in any other place than Berlin. In its glittering darkness, the city is a perfect breeding ground for a band like Suns Of Thyme.

It is definitely no coincidence that Napalm Records, home of bands like Monster Magnet, God Is An Astronaut, My Sleeping Karma and Desert Rock legend John Garcia, has already been keeping an eye on this band and now announces the worldwide signing of Suns Of Thyme.

Suns Of Thyme on signing to Napalm Records: "From the day we finished our first record until the now upcoming release of the second one we have been on a journey of individual and collective progress: Becoming a five-piece band and with everybody involved in the song writing process, we had to find new ways to communicate and make music together. In all the excitement and struggle that comes with this we have grown a lot, each one personally as well as a band in whole. While this journey is far from over yet, Cascades is gonna reflect our current state in every aspect: in the lyrics as well as in arrangement and sound. With Napalm Records and especially our A&R Billie Klein we are glad to have found people who understand us, our progress and our way of making music and who gave us the opportunity to put out this record the way we wanted it to come out."

Today the quintet unveils details of their new album including title, artwork, tracklisting & release dates. Find all details below.

Suns Of Thyme melts together space rock, shoegaze, psych and Velvet Underground on this their sophomore album. This ode to freethought is brimming with melancholy and a nonchalant greatness that will comfortably settle into your psyche – Suns Of Thyme casts off genre clichés with a grin and an artful nostalgic twist.

Cascades was mastered by Brian Lucey, Magic Garden Mastering in Los Angeles (The Black Keys, Marilyn Manson, Arctic Monkeys, Ray LaMontagne, Ghost).

Cascades tracklisting:

“Do Or Die”
“Intuition Unbound”
“Ich Traeum‘ von Dir”
“To Vanish”
“Rush”
“Schweben”
“Deep Purple Rain”
“Val Verde”
“The Field”
“Aphelion”
“Prelude”
“In Dreams Awake”
“Kirwani”
“Kirwani II”

Cascades is set to be released on May 27th via Napalm Records. Pre-orders for Cascades are available here for European customers, and here for US customers.

Suns of Thyme is:

Tammo Dehn - Synths, Percussions, Sampler
Tobias Feltes - Vocals, Guitars, Sitar
Tim Hoppe - Guitars
Jascha Kreft - Drums, Vocals
Jens Rosenkranz - Bass  



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On April 1st, Finnish pagan metal act Moonsorrow will release their seventh studio album Jumalten Aika – which means The Age Of Gods in English – via Century Media Records.

The limited edition 2CD formats come with a strictly limited patch as well as a bonus disc including cover versions of Grave’s “Soulless” and Rotting Christ’s “Non Serviam”, for which the band just launched a static video.

Henri Sorvali (guitars, keyboards & vocals) comments: "WE DO NOT SERVE.  Everyone in Moonsorrow has been a great Rotting Christ-fan since the early 90’s and with our version of this song we wanted not only to honour the band but also give the credit how much we have been influenced by them throughout our history. With our hails and deepest respect to our brothers in Hellas, we proudly present our interpretation of their creation: “Non Serviam”.”

Frontman Sakis Tolis states: "The “Non Serviam” dictum is more topical than ever nowadays and we are more than honored, that the great Finish Pagan metal warriors, Moonsorrow, have honoured it and gave their own vision on how our early 90's song can also sound nowadays. We all in the band find their creation amazing and we send our respect to the north. Keep the spirit alive!"

“There are a lot more folk music influences present in Jumalten Aika than earlier”, comments Henri Sorvali. “This time around, they are more deeply integrated to the overall sound. Jumalten Aika is like a circling wolf biting the hardest when you would never expect it. The music is unchained aggression, deep mysteries of the North and thundering witchcraft combined together in a molten forge of the Gods and reminds us all of something that never left our blood and soil.”

Jumalten Aika will be released in the following formats:

Ltd. 2CD Mediabook & Patch – European edition
Ltd. 2CD Digipak & Patch – US edition
Gatefold black 2LP+CD
Gatefold white 2LP+CD – CMDistro.de (EU webshop exclusive), limited to 100 copies
Gatefold transparent green 2LP+CD – Nuclearblast.de exclusive, limited to 200 copies
Gatefold clear 2LP+CD – distributed via RED in the US, limited to 400 copies
Gatefold silver 2LP+CD – CMDistro.com (US webshop exclusive), limited to 200 copies
CD / Digital

Pre-order at CMDistro or EMP.

Jumalten Aika tracklisting:

“Jumalten Aika”
“Ruttolehto incl. Päivättömän Päivän Kansa”
“Suden Tunti”
“Mimisbrunn”
“Ihmisen Aika (Kumarrus Pimeyteen)”

Bonus disc:

“Soulless” (Grave cover)
“Non Serviam” (Rotting Christ cover)

Teaser:

Teaser:

In April 2016, Moonsorrow will head out for a co-headline European tour with fellow countrymen Korpiklaani (pictured below). The two powerhouses of Finnish folk metal will join forces once again, with both bands playing extended sets. There will also be an official album release show at Virgin Oil in Helsinki on April 1st.

Tour dates:
 
April
1 - Virgin Oil - Helsinki, Finland (album release show)

April (with Korpiklaani)
8 - Durbuy Rock Festival - Bomal-sur-Ourthe, Belgium         
9 - Tanzmatten - Sélestat, France
10 - Melkweg - Amsterdam, Netherlands (with Heidevolk)
11 - La Trabendo - Paris, France      
12 - TBA, France     
13 - Arena - Madrid, Spain
14 - Razzmatazz2 - Barcelona, Spain
15 - CC John Lennon - Limoges, France
16 - Carène - Brest, France
17 - Antipode - Rennes, France
18 - CCO Villeurbanne - Lyon, France
19 - BAM - Metz, France
20 - Islington Academy - London, UK   
21 - Club Academy - Manchester, UK
22 - Button Factory - Dublin, Ireland           
23 - Limelight 2 - Belfast, Ireland     
24 - Classic Grand - Glasgow, Scotland          
25 - Stylus - Leeds, UK   
26 - Academy 2 - Birmingham, UK        
27 - The Fleece - Bristol, UK     
28 - 1865 - Southampton, UK    
29 - Matrix - Bochum, Germany          

(Moonsorrow photo - Tuomas Tahvanainen)



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In celebration of their 50th anniversary, rock legends Scorpions have posted Part 2 of the documentary for the album Animal Magenetism, in which we travel back in time and experience the Animal Magnetism album tour:

The band tells the story of the writing and recording of the album in Part 1, streaming below:

One of the most iconic and influential hard rock bands of all-time, Scorpions, are back on the move. After last year’s massive sold-out world tour, the band is back to rock stages even harder. On their gigantic 50th Anniversary World Tour that kicked off in 2015, the group are returning to the US with an impressive, five-night run at The Joint inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and playing even more shows in cities around the globe.

The band’s first release via Century Media Records will be the Tour Edition of Return To Forever, which comes opulently stacked with two brand-new live DVDs and is bound to make fans’ hearts leap for joy. Apart from the standard album’s twelve tracks, the CD contains all seven bonus tracks, which to date, have only been released on special editions of the album. The live DVDs are even more expansive, offering generous bonus material. Look for it everywhere on April 22nd and pre-order here.

Included are two complete concerts from last year: The open air gig at the French Hellfest Festival, where they headlined in June, and their show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York featuring an impressive guest performance on “No One Like You” by twelve-year-old guitarist Brandon Niederauer.

The brand-new fifteen-minute video documentary On The Road In America by Dennis Dirksen gets to the heart of the matter that the Scorpions are able to consistently attract new generations of fans, who are delighted by their songs, sound and shows. Shot during the current world tour in California and Las Vegas, it gives a voice to fans spanning from teenagers to rock ’n’ roll veterans. The film impressively shows how popular the Scorpions are in the US, and it’s touching to see fans burst into tears while taking photos with the musicians. One highlight is the story of the Ukrainian woman, who at the time used “Wind Of Change” as an impetus to emigrate to the US, and has been a dedicated follower of the band ever since. After all, the Scorpions have not only left their mark on history but continue to influence their fans’ biographies.

In an extensive track-by-track interview, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs offer a sneak peak into the band’s musical universe with anecdotes about the origin and meaning of the songs on Return To Forever. The Scorpions manage to blend new songs like “Going Out With A Bang”, “We Built This House” and “Rock’n’Roll Band” seamlessly with their fulminant repertoire of rock classics from “Big City Nights” and “Blackout” to “Still Loving You” and “Rock You Like A Hurricane”. This might also be the open secret allowing The Scorpions to continuously approach their live shows with so much freshness, passion and conviction. Fans can look forward to the upcoming gigs – especially because the Tour Edition of Return To Forever is a timely release as the perfect souvenir.

Tracklisting:

Disc 1:

“Going Out With A Bang”
“We Built This House”
“Rock My Car”
“House Of Cards”
“All For One”
“Rock 'N' Roll Band”
“Catch Your Luck And Play”
“Rollin' Home”
“Hard Rockin' The Place”
“Eye Of The Storm”
“The Scratch”
“Gypsy Life”
“The World We Used To Know”
“Dancing With The Moonlight”
“When The Truth Is A Lie”
“Who We Are”
“Crazy Ride”
“One And One Is Three”
“Delirious”

Disc 2 - Live in Brooklyn, NY - September 12, 2015:

“Going Out With A Bang”
“Make It Real”
“The Zoo”
“Coast To Coast”
70s Medley: “Top Of The Bill” / “Steamrock Fever” / “Speedy’s Coming” / “Catch Your Train”
“We Built This House”
“Delicate Dance”
Accoustic Medley: “Always Somewhere” / “Eye Of The Storm” / “Send Me An Angel”
“Wind Of Change”
“Rock'N'Roll Band”
“Dynamite”
“In The Line Of Fire”
“Kottack Attack”
“Blackout”
“No One Like You” Feat. Brandon Niederauer
“Big City Nights”
“Still Loving You”
“Rock You Like A Hurricane”

On The Road In America:

“We Built This House”
“Going Out With A Bang”
“We Built This House”
“Eye Of The Storm”

Return To Forever Track-By-Track Interview
Return To Forever Track-By-Track Interview

Disc 3 - Live at Hellfest, France - June 20, 2015:

“Going Out With A Bang”
“Make It Real”
“The Zoo”
“Coast To Coast”
70s Medley: “Top Of The Bill” / “Steamrock Fever” / “Speedy’s Coming” / “Catch Your Train”
“We Built This House”
“Delicate Dance” (Matthias Solo)
Accoustic Medley: “Always Somewhere” / “Eye Of The Storm” / “Send Me An Angel”
“Wind Of Change”
“Big City Nights”
“Dynamite”
“In The Line Of Fire”
“Kottack Attack”
“Crazy World”
“Rock'N'Roll Band”
“Blackout”
“Still Loving You”
“Rock You Like A Hurricane”

Return To Forever -  Interview
Return To Forever -  Interview

Scorpions have released a trailer video supporting their 2016 tour. Watch below:

The band now have the following dates scheduled:

March
16 - München, Germany - Olympiahalle
18 - Dortmund, Germany - Westfalenhalle
19 - Mannheim, Germany - Sap Arena
21 - Hamburg, Germany - Barclaycard Arena
23 - Berlin, Germany - Mercedes Benz Arena
24 - Leipzig, Germany - Arena Leipzig
26 - Frankfurt, Germany - Festhalle
27 - Cologne, Germany - Laxness Arena

May
6 - Charlotte, NC ,United States - Carolina Rebellion
13 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
14 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
18 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
20 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
21 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
28 - Pryor, OK - Rocklahoma

June
1 - Monterrey, Mexico - Monterrey Arena
3 - México City, Mexico - Arena Ciudad de México
4 - Guadalajara, Mexico - Auditorio Telmex
18 - Hinwil, Switzerland - Rock the Ring
28 - Lisbon, Portugal - MEO Arena
30 - Bilbao, Spain - Arena Miribilla

July
3 - Madrid, Spain - Barclaycard Arena
14 - Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel - Menora Mivtachim Arena
29 - ORIPÄÄ, Finland - Rockin' The Runaway Festival
30 - NILSIÄ, Finland - Rockin’ The Rock Festival



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